It’s the same animal. In a Tuscan kitchen, it’s carved tableside as a ritual. In a Korean kitchen, it’s sliced thin and gone in seconds. And in a Cantonese kitchen, it’s been braising since morning.
In Hong Kong, three chefs are bringing their love of beef from home, each cooking through the lens of a childhood tradition that shaped them long before they ever stepped into a professional kitchen. Here is how to eat beef well, because whether in Tuscany, Seoul, or Hong Kong, the rule is simple: when it comes to beef, do as the locals do.
Tuscan at Carna by Dario Cecchini
Carna’s signature Bistecca alla Fiorentina. Photo: Handout
Dario Cecchini is a proud Tuscan – and when an eighth-generation butcher from Panzano in Chianti tells you how to eat beef, you listen.
For Cecchini, the Bistecca alla Fiorentina is the centrepiece of Italian beef. The steak arrives whole, close to 2kg, still shimmering from the grill. It is 4cm thick, which allows the surface to develop a deep, mahogany crust while the inside stays rare and cool. What you get in a single bite is a series of contrasts – char and blood, fat and lean, smoke and minerality. Cecchini calls this “a conversation of textures”.
He brings that conversation to Mondrian Hong Kong, where his eponymous Carna by Dario Cecchini serves the same Bistecca by the same rule: never season the steak before it touches fire. Salt and Tuscan olive oil are applied only after cooking. Salt draws moisture to the surface, which then steams rather than sears, robbing the crust of its depth. But the rule runs deeper than food science. “You are saying to the steak, you are already complete,” Cecchini says. “I am only here to finish your essence.”
Tenerumi in Insalata at Carna. Photo: Handout
If you want a deeper cut, Cecchini recommends the spider steak. Known in Italian as ragnolino, it is a small, humble cut from the inner thigh. A lean and muscular cut, it is often overlooked in favour of more famous names. Grilled simply on the bone and dressed with extra virgin Tuscan olive oil and Cecchini’s own herb salt, Profumo del Chianti, it proves his philosophy better than any sermon could: no cut is tough if treated with care. It is only ever waiting for the right hands.
Dining and Cooking